Ripples
by Kirii
Summary: [AU, ZexionDemyx, much later] Myde's life before becoming a Nobody was simple. The only worries he had were his brother and sister. Then, the Heartless came.
1. Prologue

_**Author's Note:** And here I go starting yet another fic when I have several that haven't been finished yet. Anyways, this is my take on Demyx's life before he was a Nobody. There are a couple original characters that I stole from an original story that I was planning on writing but never got around to it  
__**Warnings:** OCs, plays on Greek mythology, weird insight on Demyx's past, eventual yaoi and an insane author.  
__**Disclaimer:** I wish._

**Prologue**

Myde's life was simple. His responsibilities were few and his parents were almost always out, leaving him and his two younger siblings alone most of the time. This led him, Adrian and Aunrae to days full of play in the springs surrounding the small city of Hydropolis. This was the perfect life.

_Nothing could beat this_, Myde thought.

Switching into his water form, he opened the can of soda he held, chugged it down and turned to his brother and sister.

"Hey, guys!" he called. "Check this out!" He held up his clear watery hands as they took on the bubbly characteristics of the carbonated drink he had just downed. "Bubbles!"

Adrian nearly choked on his own drink as he laughed at Myde. Aunrae, the youngest of the three, stopped swimming in her spring to see what was going on. Upon seeing Myde as bubbly as the soda she had bought him, giggles overtook her.

"How'd you do that?" Adrian asked, still laughing.

"You just have to drink something in water form," Myde explained, smirking.

Myde and his siblings were three of many Naiads living in the springs of Hydropolis. Like the other Naiads, each of them had two forms: a solid form, which they could use to interact with the humans of the city, and a water form, which was, of course, pure water locked into the shape of their body. Most Naiads spent the majority of their time in their water form, swimming and playing in the springs, using their solid form only for excursions to the city. All Naiads spent each night sleeping in the springs, regenerating their water form. Without the springs, the Naiads would die.

Most people in Hydropolis have seen a Naiad at some point in their life. That is, a Naiad in its water form. Everyone has seen a Naiad in their solid form, whether they know it or not. The society of Naiads is very private, wishing for complete peace in their lives. They rarely let humans interact with them if they're in the springs. Because of their reclusive behavior, most humans do not believe the Naiads truly exist; only that they are the sprites of legend.

Of course, the human legends about the Naiads were completely off. The Naiads did exist, of course. If they didn't, Myde, Adrian, and Aunrae would not be playing in the springs as they were right now. Humans, for centuries in Hydropolis, have told stories of beautiful maidens that, when frightened, shift into water and disappear into the springs. Never once had the notion that Naiads were _not _only female risen in the minds of the humans that told their tales. Naiads, according to the humans, were beautiful, immortal water sprites, women of the eternal springs.

This greatly offended the Naiad men, of course. Though, it couldn't be helped, really. Usually, if a Naiad was spotted in a water form, it was one of the flirtatious women. The men rarely had reason to let a human see them. And, even if the men were seen, it was almost impossible to tell the difference between a man and woman Naiad; male Naiads were still very pretty and rather androgenous. There were really only one major difference and that was anatomy. But even those differences were only seen after a better look, which humans weren't generally given the chance to get.

But anyways, back to Myde and his siblings. The three of them were currently still laughing at the now carbonated Myde. Adrian had also now turned into his water form and was chugging down the strawberry soda he had purchased with his sister and was turning redder and redder by the second. Finally, once his entire watery form was the same red color as the soda, he turned to his sister and grinned.

"How much you want to bet I taste like strawberries?" he asked.

"The chances are good, but I'm not going to try it," Aunrae said. "I am _not_ tasting my twin."

"Ne, Aunrae," Myde said. "You gotta try this!" He tossed his sister a soda and gave a small laugh. "It kinda tickles havin bubbles inside you."

"I'll bet," Aunrae replied, catching the drink and climbing out of her spring. She opened the drink and drank it down. She, unlike her brothers, had already been in her water form, regenerating in the spring, so she pretty much immediately changed. Her watery body took on the carbonation that the soda had and she immediately began giggling. Out of the three of them, she was the most ticklish. "Oh, Lady Artemis!" she gasped, still laughing. "That _really_ tickles!"

She continued laughing as the bubbles floated through her. "How do I stop it?!" she managed to squeak out.

Myde paused. "Uh. . .I don't know?"

"What do you mean, you don't know?!" Aunrae screeched. "I'm going to die like this!"

Myde thought about it. "Uh. . ."

"Get in the spring, Aunrae!" Adrian told his sister. "Maybe it can wash out."

Aunrae did so, immediately jumping into the spring. She stayed down in the water for a few minutes before breaking the surface. She glared at her oldest brother.

"I," she told him. "Am _so _going to kill you."

Myde shifted into his solid form, sweatdropping. "Eh, heh. . .well, at least you're not bubbly anymore, right?"

"I'm still going to kill you."

"You love me too much."

"Wanna make a bet on that?" Aunrae asked.

"I'm sorry?" Myde guessed at what to say.

"I'll forgive you on one condition," Aunrae told him.

"What's that?" Myde asked, almost afraid of what that condition was.

"You get dinner every night this week, it has to be shrimp, a different dish each night, _and_ you have to pay for it out of your own pocket munny."

"That's more than one condition, Aunrae!" Myde whined.

"Do it or I'll never forgive you!"

"Fine, fine!"

Aunrae smiled, glad she got her way, and dived back down into the spring to wash out the last bit of carbonation out of her system. Myde whined pathetically and looked at his brother. Adrian, still red and carbonated, looked back and gave a grin.

"It's almost time for dinner," he said.

Myde pouted. "Can I borrow fifty munny?"

"She said out of your own pocket munny," Adrian grinned, jumping into the spring to swim with his sister.

"But I don't have that much munny!"

Yes, life for Myde was peaceful, laid-back, and fun. Even with the twins losing him munny by telling him to buy expensive dinners, he loved his life. The city of Hydropolis was quiet, clean, and its springs were always filled with the water that the Naiads needed to live. Nothing could be better and Myde would love to spend his entire life in those springs.

What fate had in store for Myde, however, was going to blow his life to pieces. Those pieces would lie scattered, never to be picked up and put together again.

_**Author's Note:** Damn sun woke me up this morning. At an ungodly hour, of course. Yay. Expect a couple more chapters from this timeline of Demyx's life before I move on to him becoming a Nobody. _


	2. Chapter One

_**Author's Note:** Originally, I was going to write this so that the Heartless attack next chapter, but things didn't turn out the way I planned, so the attack begins this chapter. Also, if you read the prologue before the changes I made, I did change Azrael to Adrian. Sorry if this irritates you a bit.  
__**Warnings:** Lots of made up stuff about Naiads. Blah, blah, blah, I don't know what else to warn you about because there isn't much.  
__**Disclaimer:** This version of Myde belongs to me. The Naiad twins belong to me. I own nothing other than those three, because the combined restraining order and threat to shoot me on sight keep me from trying to own anything else._

**Chapter One**

It was spring in Hydropolis. The rains came many times, keeping the springs full of fresh water. The fish were abundant and the city was full of bustling people. This was the best time of year for a Naiad. Going into the city led to many a delicious sea-food treat and, so long as they maintained a solid form, the humans would not recognize them as anything but human. So, of course, Myde, Aunrae, and Adrian were wandering the city, munny on hand, enjoying the sights, sounds, and smells across Hydropolis.

"Oh, Myde!" Aunrae exclaimed. "Look, look!"

The girl pointed to a vendor that was selling clams and oysters.

"Come on, Myde," she begged. "Can we get some? Can we? Can we, please?"

Myde pulled out a handful of munny from the pocket of the clothes he had generated using the magick of his species. He carefully counted out how much he had and gave his sister just enough to get a small dish of clams.

"You have to share," he told her.

"Yeah, yeah, okay," Aunrae replied, running over to the vendor.

Myde pushed his long, pale bangs out of his eyes and looked at his brother. "See anything you want?"

Adrian shook his head. "Not yet."

"Well, say so if you do."

Myde looked around the street market and spotted another vendor, this one selling musical instruments. His eyes widened in excitement and he went over to take a look at the multiple instruments. There were flutes, bugles, drums, and a selection of string instruments. Myde looked at one in particular; a sitar that hung from a clip at the top of the booth. It fascinated him.

"Like 'er?" the vendor asked, grinning at Myde.

"She's beautiful," Myde replied.

The vendor took the sitar down and handed it to him. "Go on, try 'er out."

Myde carefully held the instrument and plucked at the strings. "Wow."

"Hand-crafted," the vendor said. "Best sitar I ev'r made. She's a beauty."

"How much?"

"Six thousand an' eight hundred munny."

Myde choked. "Oh, man. What kind of teenager's got that kind of munny?"

The vendor laughed. "Sure in heck ain't you, kid, judgin' from your comment."

"I'll give you seven hundred for it," Myde told him.

"I spent more on the materials for it."  
Myde hung his head. "Man."

"Myde," Adrian said. "I want some blowfish."

The older Naiad looked at his brother, then at the sitar in his hands. With a sigh, he returned the sitar and led his brother over to the vendor selling blowfish. Aunrae had run back to join them and was happily chewing on a clam as she walked along beside her brothers. Adrian led Myde over to the booth where the blowfish was being sold and had him buy a dish. Myde sighed, ordered, and handed the vendor the munny to pay for the small snack. He looked back over his shoulder and saw the music vendor talking to another person. He pouted as he watched the other person take the sitar that he had just been looking at and hand over a handful of munny.

"Ah, man," he whined, quietly. "I wanted that."

Adrian looked at his brother. He saw the pout on Myde's lips as the older Naiad watched the buyer walk over to a teenage boy and hand the sitar over. The teenager plucked at the strings for a moment before shifting into a short, violent melody.

"Myde, don't get upset," Adrian told his brother.

"Yeah," Aunrae said. "It's just a sitar."

Myde pouted again. "Just a sitar? No, Aunrae. That was the most perfectly created sitar I've ever seen. That was true beauty." He sighed. "And that snotty, tone-deaf _human_ got it!"

Adrian put a hand on Myde's shoulder. "Tell you what. We'll buy you a sitar at the next market."

"But that's not for another five months!" Myde whined.

Aunrae popped a clam into Myde's mouth. "Shut up and enjoy the rest of the market."

Myde pouted, but chewed on the clam as he followed his brother and sister through the market. Occasionally, he'd stop and buy some more fish to eat, a couple small, inexpensive instruments for the twins, and some shrimp to work into that night's dinner. He only had a couple more days until Aunrae would let him off the hook for nearly killing her with bubbles.

"Hey, kid!" a voice called.

Myde turned around. The man from the instruments booth was approaching him. Myde paused and looked at the man, curious as to why he was coming over to him. The man reached him and pulled a small business card out of his pocket and handed it to Myde.

"When ya get e'nuff munny fer a sitar, come see me," the man said. "I got s'more at my shop, jus' as good as the one ya were lookin' at."

Myde's face broke out in a grin. "Awesome! I'll be there sometime soon."

The man gave him a smile in return, then headed back over to his booth, where he had a couple costumers waiting. Myde returned his attention to his brother and sister, who were watching a juggler with interest as he threw flaming torches into the air and caught them in a circle. Grabbing the twins, who gave moans of disappointment, Myde headed for home. It was getting late and they needed to return to the springs before their parents got home.

"So, what's for dinner tonight?" Aunrae asked.

"Scampi, you greedy brat," Myde muttered. "Y'know, if you hadn't forced me to buy shrimp every night, I'd have had enough to get that sitar."

"Wah," Aunrae said, sarcastically. "Just remember that you nearly killed me."

"You can't die from carbonation!" Myde protested, shoving his almost white bangs out of his face.

"I couldn't breathe!"

"Ladies, ladies," Adrian said, slipping his hand into the pocket of his pants and pulling out the ocarina he got at the market. "Can we drop this? Do you really want to ruin the afternoon by bickering?"

Aunrae glared at her twin, then stuck her tongue out at Myde. The oldest Naiad growled and shook his fist at her. Adrian sighed, put the ocarina to his lips and tried out a short melody as the three of them walked out of the city and into the surrounding forest. It was a short distance to the Hydropolis springs, where the Naiads lived. Their home spring was actually three springs, all connected by small waterfalls. The largest spring was where their parents slept, the middle-sized ones was where the twins rested and the one just smaller was Myde's own spring. He rarely let either Aunrae or Adrian visit his spring, wanting his privacy and being the selfish Naiad he was.

Each spring was deep, reaching five or six feet to the bottom at times. All of the springs in Hydropolis connected in some way. Underneath the springs was a large cavern, to which there were several entrances. Most of the Naiads used this cavern as a gathering place for dinners and relaxing. The cavern was big enough that each Naiad family had their own section to use.

Aunrae and Adrian dived into their pool and headed for the entrance to the cavern, Myde following shortly after them. The three of them made their way to the cavern with their dinner stuff and headed for their spot. While Myde went about preparing dinner, Aunrae and Adrian wandered over to talk with some of the other young Naiads who were in the cavern.

* * *

"Hey, Adrian," Aunrae said, later that night. She shifted out of her solid form and floated as water in the spring she and her twin shared.

"What is it?" Adrian asked, doing the same.

"Do you think I was a bit harsh, punishing Myde like that?"

Adrian looked at his sister. "You were being a bit greedy, I think. You know shrimp's expensive. Besides, it's not like he forced you to carbonate yourself."

Aunrae sighed. "Yeah, I suppose. Maybe I should tell him he's off the hook."

"Now, why would you do something like that?" the older twin asked, flashing his sister a grin. "We get two more days of shrimp if you don't."

"Now who's being greedy?" Myde asked, popping his head into the twins' spring.

Both twins let out small yelps of surprise, bubbles of air floating to the surface of the spring. Myde laughed at them, then pulled his head out of their spring and dived into his own. Aunrae broke through the surface of the water and glared at her brother as he came back up.

"Myde, don't eavesdrop!" she yelled at him

"I can eavesdrop if I want," Myde told her, changing from his solid form into his watery one.

"Grr!"

"And be quiet," Myde added. "You want the humans to come over here to find what all the noise is about?"

Aunrae stuck her tongue out at him. The eldest Naiad just laughed her off and dived deep down into his spring. He found the spot in the water that he considered the most comfortable and closed his eyes, curling into a ball of watery being. Small bubbles of air escaped his lips as he gave a soft, tired sigh, already drifting off to sleep.

* * *

Hydropolis was covered in a heavy mist, one unusual for the time of year. Many people left their homes confused by the abnormal weather conditions. There was an ominous feeling in the city that made over half the population uneasy. Something was up, but no one had any idea what that something may be.

In the forest, the mist was just as heavy. The Naiads woke up and left their springs, only to find they could not see through the mist. The same uneasy feeling that was spreading throughout the city began to seep into the hearts of the Naiad population. Mothers grasped their young children close, mates held to each other. Siblings clung together. Fear replaced the uneasiness.

"What's going on?" a Naiad asked.

The question repeated around the large gathering of water sprites. Frightened replies of "I don't know" and whimpers followed the question. Several Naiads crouched down on their knees and asked for the Lady Artemis to protect them from what frightened them. The tension in the air was thick enough to be cut with a dull knife and only got worse when distant screams floated through the forest and mist.

Myde put an arm in front of each of the twins, guarding them from whatever was out there. Aunrae clung onto the older Naiad like a lifeline, giving the mist a worried glance every few seconds. Adrian reached for his twin's hand, gripping it tightly in reassurance. He gave her a comforting smile, though he himself was a bit nervous.

"It'll be okay, sis," he told her. "The Lady wouldn't let anything happen to us."

As if to counter his statement, dark creatures shot out of the mist. Screams sounded throughout the crowd of Naiads as the creatures leapt at them, clawing at their bodies with black hands. Children broke away from their mothers in fear, running from the creatures that came from the mists and changing into water to escape into the springs. The older Naiads tried to fight the creatures, some succeeding in defeating a small number of them, but more took place of the fallen.

Myde shoved the twins backwards, towards the springs they had left not five minutes ago. "Run!" he said. "Get to the cavern and hide. Go!"

"What about you?" Aunrae asked, resisting the tug on her wrist as her twin tried to pull her towards the springs.

"Just shut up and get out of here!"

"Come on, Aunrae!" Adrian shouted over the screams of the other Naiads.

He pulled his sister away from Myde as the older Naiad went to fight against the creatures. A couple of the creatures leapt past the line of Naiads fighting and ran at those that were trying to escape. Aunrae let out a shriek as one of the creatures jumped at her. She summoned a blast of water to knock it away, tripping as the blast of water knocked her off balance as well.

"Are you okay?" Adrian asked, helping her up.

"Yeah," Aunrae replied.

The two of them changed into water and dived into the springs, swimming as fast as they could to the entrance to the cavern that waited below. They slid through the entrance and splashed down into the cavern, where other young Naiads were gathered. Many of the youngest were crying, in fear and in sorrow for those that fallen to the onslaught of creatures above ground. The older Naiads held them close, whispering words of comfort and encouragement, saying that the ones fighting would ward off the creatures and that they would be safe to return above ground soon.

Time passed. No one knew how much time had gone by when a handful of weak and alarmed Naiads suddenly burst through the entrance of the cave, splashing down and then leaping back up. Panicked cries were almost indistinguishable as all of them began screaming at one time. Finally, one spoke loudly and clearly:

"We need to get out of here!" she shouted. "They're coming down to the caverns!"

The affects of these words were almost immediate. Children began crying and screaming. Young mothers and older siblings quickly herded the children to one corner of the cavern, where an elder was opening a portal using ancient magick to send them away from Hydropolis. It was a spell that had been passed down for generations, in case something was to happen to the springs and the Naiads would have to leave their home. Never had such an occasion arisen until now. The children were shoved, screaming into the portal, told by worried family to find a place to hide.

"Aunrae!" a voice called over the screams of the Naiad children. "Adrian!"

"Myde!" Aunrae exclaimed. She broke away from her twin and pushed past the crowds to reach her older brother. She ran over to him and wrapped her arms around him. "You're okay!"

"For now," Myde replied. He put a hand on Aunrae's head. "Listen to me, both of you," he said as Adrian joined his twin and brother. "You need to get out of here. Find someplace where it's safe. I'll join you there."

"No!" Adrian protested. "You're coming with us!"

"You can't stay here!" Aunrae said. "Those things will get you!"

"I'm staying behind to find Mom and Dad," he told them. "When I find them, we'll come through and find you. I promise."

"We'll stay, too!"

"No, Aunrae," Myde said, sharply. "You two get out of here. Now."

"But--"

A noise erupted from the entrance to the cavern and somebody screamed as the access hole was suddenly broken and made larger as the creatures that had been attacking above ground burst in. The creatures came in waves, shrouded in shadows, moving too quickly to tell how many there were. They rushed at the gathered Naiads, wrenching screams from the sprites. The younger Naiads that had not yet been sent out of Hydropolis watched in utter horror as the creatures ripped hearts out of their friends and family. The bodies of the heartless Naiads vanished and more of the creatures appeared simultaneously.

"Mommy!" one young Naiad screamed as she watched her mother fall. She was quickly shoved through the portal afterwards and told to run.

"Adrian!" Myde shouted, seeing his brother and sister still in the cavern. "Get your sister out of here! Now!"

Adrian swallowed a defiant outburst and nodded. He grabbed Aunrae's hand and began to pull her to the portal off their world. The younger twin started screaming, calling Myde's name in a panic and struggling against Adrian's grip. With some difficulty, Adrian managed to shove Aunrae into the portal, then turned to look at his brother one last time. When he turned, he gave a horrified yell as he saw one of the creatures claw at Myde's chest. He watched as his brother crumpled to the ground and his heart float out of his body.

"MYDE!"

_**Author's Note:** There. I know this could have been a bit longer, but I just wanted to get it out of the way before I have to start working on my thesis paper. Just a note, most of the story from now on will be from Demyx's point of view, but we'll be seeing the twins from time to time, as well._


	3. Chapter Two

_**Author's Note: **I'm amazed y'all like this as much as you do. I definitely wasn't expecting a lot of people to enjoy this, but let me tell you guys: I am flattered. Thanks much. Also, the idea for Demyx's behavior here comes from a girl I role-play with, so all credit there to Renée-san with much love...  
__**Warnings:** Axel. Some swearing. A bit of odd stuff, but that can be expected, right? Oh, and I should probably say this now: yes this **is** a Zexion/Demyx fic, but I want to play with Axel/Demyx a bit first.  
__**Disclaimer:** -there is a resounding crash as author falls off her chair and lands on the floor laughing her ass off-_

Chapter Two

He was drifting between consciousness and the black void of nothingness that he had known for…however long he had been there. His senses were picking up signs from outside the safety of his mind; he could feel a chill, smell salt, and hear waves crashing against stone. Something wet touched him and his eyes cracked open to be greeted by the sight of a dark ocean in front of him. Strange stone stretched across the horizon in an arch, almost black against the velvet deep sapphire of the sky.

He looked around, trying to find some way to know where he was. The terrain looked unfamiliar, but then, he couldn't remember if he had been there before or not. The sensation of the dark water against his skin felt familiar, but he didn't think he had felt it before. Everything around him looked both familiar and unfamiliar. He thought he could recognise his surroundings, but he wasn't quite sure.

"Where…am I?"

It must have been his voice. He hadn't seen anyone else around on the dark beach and he was certain that he could feel the words rise from his throat. He shivered, suddenly aware of just how cool it was. He noted that his lack of clothing could also add to the cold that consumed his body. His hands moved upwards and ran themselves over his arms in a quick manner, an attempt to warm himself up. Despite his attempts, he remained cold.

His eyes closed and he saw images on the back of his eyelids; flashes of scenes he could barely recognise. Creatures jumped at him from the shadows in these scenes that played in black and white in his mind. He could see a clawed black hand reach towards him and he could hear himself scream in pain and fright as something was ripped from his chest. Unconsciously, his hand flew to his chest as he saw these visions, almost afraid that there would be nothing there. A small whimper of relief escaped his lips as his fingers hit solid, soft flesh instead of a gaping hole. All of a sudden, another question rose to his mind.

"W-who am I?"

* * *

It was obvious the blond boy sitting on the black rock was confused. All of them were when they first found their way to the dark beach. At least, that he knew of. It had been the same for him and Number Seven. He wasn't sure about the other six members; he hadn't asked any of them about when they first became what they were now. It didn't really matter in the end.

Axel shoved a stray lock of crimson hair out of his face, the wind having blown it out of place. He stood to the side, watching the new arrival closely, studying him. He wondered briefly why he had been sent to fetch the new Nobody; he was just a newbie himself. It wasn't like he had any authority in the Organization. The thought was mentally shrugged off; orders were orders after all. If he had to go pick up the newbie, that's what he'd do.

He watched the new arrival for a few moments before the boy began questioning things out loud:

"Where…am I?" the new Nobody asked. "W-who am I?"

"You're just another being of darkness," Axel said, stepping out of the shadows and closer to the blond boy sitting on the beach.

The boy looked up at him with large, scared blue-green eyes. Axel took another step closer and the boy cringed away. The red-head paused and studied the small, thin form. His hand reached up and started to undo the long zipper of his long coat. Shrugging it off his shoulders, Axel held the coat out to the new Nobody.

"Here," he said. "You're probably cold and we can't have you walking around without any clothes."

"What are you going to do to me?"

"I'm not going to do anything," Axel told him. He reached out to help the young Nobody up. As soon as his hand was around the other's arm, however, a blast of water slammed into him.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" the boy shouted.

Axel leapt back as another blast of water shot out of the ground by his feet. "Hey!"

_Jeez, what **is** this kid's problem?!_ the red-head thought, trying to avoid getting hit by another attack. _Are all of us this difficult at first?_

He grabbed the other and wrestled him to the ground. "Damn it, kid, will you cut that shit out?! I'm not going to hurt you!"

"Let go of me! Don't touch me, you bastard!"

Obviously, the kid hadn't forgotten how to run his mouth or any number of swear words. A string of colorful obscenities flowed from the blond's mouth like water from a fountain. It was apparent that he hadn't lost all his senses, either, from the way he fought Axel off. The red-head growled in exasperation and, with an almost insincere apology, balled a fist and slammed it into the other Nobody's stomach. The blond beneath Axel stilled, unconscious from the heavy blow.

"Didn't want to do that," he told the boy. "But I gotta do what I gotta do."

Haphazardly, Axel pulled his jacket onto the blond and picked him up. He hefted the other Nobody over his shoulder, reached a thin arm out and spread his hand out. A dark portal opened in front of him and he stepped through. The portal closed behind him with a soft whooshing sound.

On the other side was a path, a world between worlds, aptly called Betwixt and Between. This world was all but empty, a mere station where one portal would close and another open to the destination one chose. Axel was to open a portal to the world of complete nothing, the world where the Nobodies all gathered: The World that Never Was.

The name suited the world, as it was nothing but the shadow of a world long destroyed and beyond reconstruction. The world had never and would never truly exist; it was naught but a void created by the inexistence of Light and yet it was not Darkness. Its sad existence was unknown to anything not of the world; for none knew of it, save for the inhabitants. The world, dark and dreary, was the perfect home for those who shouldn't exist.

Axel stepped out of the portal into a large room. It was the meeting room for the Organization in the Castle that Never Was. The Organization's leader, Xemnas, waited in the room, seated in his chair. He looked at Axel as the red-head entered through the shadows and cocked a thin, silver eyebrow.

"I don't believe I said to knock him out, Eight," Xemnas said.

Axel ran a hand through his crimson tresses. "Kinda had to, Superior. He put up a fight."

Xemnas stood up and approached Axel. "Did you get his name?"

"Like I could with him screaming the way he was," Axel replied curtly. He dragged the blond Nobody over to one of the empty chairs and set him in it.

The silver-haired Superior chose to ignore Axel's disrespect for the moment. "Did he show any true power?"

"If you can call geysers 'true power', then yeah, he did."

"Geysers, Eight?"

Axel nodded. "Yes, sir. It seems his element is water. He called up pure water to protect himself. I guess he thought I was a threat."

"So he may have a use to us," Xemnas murmured. "He would be a good opposition for you."

"What do you mean by that, Superior?" Axel asked, a bit put-off.

"Fire and water are opposite elements," the older Nobody explained. "The clashing of your elements would make the two of you perfect for strengthening your control and building up your abilities. Training with him would do you some good."

"I do just fine as I am," Axel huffed.

"You're reckless, Eight. You think you can get by with your flames alone. You have your weapons for a reason; they act as a focus. We Nobodies cannot control our elements without focus, which is the reason why you cannot be trusted to do anything more than the grunt work around here."

"I don't need a focus."

Xemnas glared at Axel. "You cannot control yourself. Until you can, you will not leave this castle for anything more than recon."

Axel muttered under his breath. Xemnas ignored him as he called in one of the other members. Saïx appeared at the door, golden gaze locked on the Superior for a moment before bowing. Xemnas acknowledged the Lunar Diviner before ordering the blue-haired man to take the new Nobody and put him in one of the empty rooms of the castle. The other Nobody nodded, picked up the blond and headed out.

* * *

He shifted, slowly waking up, disturbed by the softness of the ground underneath him. It was too soft; it felt like he would sink into the ground if he made a wrong move. There was something over his body, something soft and light. He opened his eyes to find himself in a bed. The room was dark and unfamiliar, barely lit by a single, dim oil lamp hanging on the wall. He blinked a couple times before letting out a yelp and leaping out of bed.

As he leapt up, his feet tangled in the blanket that had been covering him and he fell unceremoniously to the cold floor of the room. He lay face down on the floor, tangled in blankets for a moment before crawling out of the blankets and jumping back up. Scared of his surroundings, he left the room in a hurry, not wanting to be in the room. Running out of the room, he looked around to make sure there wasn't anything to jump out at him.

_Where am I?!_ he thought, frantically. _How did I get here?_

He tried to think. The last thing he remembered, he had been at that strange beach, being attacked by that red-head. He remembered reaching out with some part of himself to call up some way to defend himself against the other. After that, he couldn't recall anything. That, in and of itself, scared him.

_Shit, shit, shit! What do I do? What do I do?_

In his frenzied state, the boy couldn't control the power within him and something inside him snapped. Below him, the water main to the castle burst from the sheer energy the boy released in his fright.

* * *

In the Kitchen that Never Was, the second member of the Organization, Xigbar, had been washing the dishes when the water main exploded. The soapy dishwater burst up out of the sink, shooting up and soaking the Free Shooter. He let out a howl as the water blasted into his one good eye. He put up his hands to try and block the onslaught of water, to no avail.

In his office, Xemnas dropped his pen in shock as the scream echoed throughout the halls and reached his ears. He looked up from his reports in surprise, trying to find the origin of the unholy sound.

"…Well, if you're fine," he said looking at a silent Saïx, who was the only other occupant of the room, "Then who screamed?"

* * *

Panicking, the newest Nobody ran down the hall. Surprisingly, he wasn't screaming his head off. Turning a corner a tad too quickly, he tripped on the hem of the oversized coat he wore. Instead of hitting the floor, he stumbled into a man who had been in the hallway. Looking up, he saw that this man was tall and well-built. He had long, black hair, styled in dreadlocks and angled sideburns. The man, Xaldin, the Whirlwind Lancer, looked a bit surprised at the collision.

The panicking klutz suddenly let out a very high and surprisingly feminine screech. To him, this man was very scary indeed and not exactly someone he wanted to meet in a dark alley, or a white hallway, as the case was. His scream released even more energy, which reached to find a way to protect its vessel. As a result, all the water pipes in Vexen's lab exploded, flooding the entire lab in two or so feet of water, completely destroying two of the Chilly Academic's experiments, as well as a shelf full of chemical components.

Vexen, having been in his lab at the time, added to the screaming as his lab was destroyed. With Xigbar still screaming as water continued to blast out of the sink and the newest Nobody having the lungs of a rock star, the noise was gradually growing louder and louder. In the castle's library, a silver-haired young man quietly swore as the surprise of the screaming caused him to make an error in the crossword puzzle he had been working on.

Back in the hallway, the frightened newbie kneed Xaldin in the groin in his panic and bolted past the man. Luckily for him, this incapacitated Xaldin, so he could turn the next corner as he ran off again. Behind him, the third Organization member started to scream in pain as he fell to the ground, body tense and face contorted into a grimace.

Numerous twisting corridors that were all white and identical made it impossible for the young man to return to the room he had woken up in and he was beginning to think he might have been better off waiting in that room for who knows what. Making a sharp left, he ran up a flight of blindingly white stairs, somehow managing to not fall down them or trip on the long coat. He spotted a set of double doors and burst through them, noisily entering the library of the Castle that Never Was.

Almost immediately, he ran in a tall shelf full of heavy books, unable to halt his rapid speed in time to avoid hitting it. The bookshelf started to fall, but away from the young man, falling instead into the bookcase in front of it, which fell into the one in front of _it_, thus beginning a chain of events vastly similar to that of a set of dominos that had been knocked over. He stood where he was, watching in horrified fascination as bookcase after bookcase fell over, banging into each other with a clapping noise, loud as thunder, as wood hit wood, accompanied by hundreds of thuds as books fell from the shelves and onto the floor.

The silver-haired young man who had previously been working on a crossword puzzle looked up, his visible eye wide in shock as he watched his beloved library fell to pieces around him. Zexion let out an uncharacteristic scream of outrage and horror. This only added to the shouts already ringing throughout the castle, causing the chaos to spread in a domino effect, much like the bookshelves that continued to fall around the library.

The newest member would later remark that the Castle that Never Was had great acoustics.

Down in the basement gym, a very muscular man dropped a heavy weight on his foot, surprised by the noise that echoed down the ventilation system. He let out a scream of pain as seventy-five pounds of iron crushed his foot, breaking multiple bones in the process, causing the din in the castle to grow even louder.

Turning and running out of the library as fast as he could, the one responsible for everything headed back down the stairs. He decided, as he ran off, that whoever had been in the library must have been scary and that he never wanted to meet that person if he could help it. Dashing around another corner, the boy ran down a different staircase with all the force of a typhoon, knocking down a red-head as he did so.

With a groan, the blond pushed himself up and looked at the victim of his latest klutz attack. With a start, he realized that the red-head was the one who had attacked him at the beach. In a surprising display of agility, the young man jumped up and landed on the red-head, one foot placed on his chest, the other on his lower abdomen, and began to ride him like a champion surfer to the bottom of the staircase. Unsurprisingly, the red-head, Axel, screamed the entire way down, each stair causing him more and more pain until the pair finally came to a stop at the bottom of the staircase and the blond jumped off of Axel and recommenced his race to get out.

"That'll teach you," the blond called back over his shoulder. "Pervert!"

Deep within the bowels of the Castle that Never Was, Xemnas' head fell to his desk with a bang as the screams of six men reverberated throughout the hallways. Through it all, Saïx, who was probably the most psychotic of all the members, stayed still and silent as a statue, with only a sadistic gleam in his fierce yellow eyes. At least _someone_ got a kick out of all of this.

* * *

"Now, after this morning's rather…_unfortunate_ series of events," Xemnas paused here to look at the newest member of the organization. "The kitchen is out of order, the library is in shambles, and the toilets are all backed up and over-flowing. We will have to temporarily move out until we can get the repairs complete."

"And _where_ will be moving to?" Vexen asked, teeth grinding. He was obviously extremely upset that his lab had been destroyed, despite the fact that he supposedly had no emotions. He was glaring constantly at the ninth member of the Organization, known here on out as Demyx.

"The apartment complex in the Dark City seems the best choice at the moment," Xemnas replied.

Zexion wrinkled his nose. "Please tell me you are not serious, Superior."

"Is there a problem, Six?"

"That place smells overwhelmingly of rats decaying in their own feces," Zexion told him.

"We'll all have to deal," Xigbar said, leaning back in his chair.

Zexion wrinkled his nose in disgust again, arms folded against his chest. He swore to himself to find the apartment in the complex that smelled the least. His sensitive nose wouldn't be able to handle the stench otherwise. He, too, glared at Demyx. In fact, everyone was glaring at the blond at this point.

Demyx squirmed in his seat, the leather of his new uniform, provided by Xemnas, creaking at the movement. The combined heated glares from eight other Nobodies made him feel rather uncomfortable. He clenched his teeth down on his thumbnail through the gloves he wore as part of the uniform, trying to keep from panicking again.

After everything had happened, Xemnas had sent Saïx out to fetch him and everything was explained to him. Well, it had taken the silver-haired man a couple tries to explain it; the first time his words had been hard for the blond boy to understand and, due to all the theories and experiments that Xemnas had elaborated on, the boy had gotten distracted by the rain he could see outside of one of the windows in the room.

According to Xemnas, Demyx no longer had a heart and was just the empty shell of the person he had been. He had explained that Demyx could no longer feel emotions, that the fear that gripped him was nothing more than the faint memories of the feelings that he once had. He told him of the Organization's purpose, to obtain Kingdom Hearts and regain the hearts they once possessed and thus, become human once more. Demyx had stared at the silver-haired man, unable to believe what he heard.

"But I…I _can_ feel!" he had argued. "I can!"

"You only think you can because you have not yet come to terms with what you now are," Xemnas replied, his voice cold and uncaring. "Once you realize that you are indeed without a heart, these false emotions will weaken and no longer trouble you."

"I don't want to be like this!" Demyx shouted. "I'm still human! I _can_ feel!"

Xemnas eventually let Demyx have his little tantrum, stopping the boy only when he lost control of his power. He then explained that Demyx needed a weapon to act as a focus to keep his abilities in check. Once he told him this, he had Saïx escort Demyx back to the room he had awoken in, to wait until things settled enough that Xemnas could call a meeting between the members of the Organization.

As Demyx now sat with everyone still giving him their harsh glares, he whimpered slightly, still afraid of all of them. He shrank back in his chair as Xemnas announced that the meeting was adjourned and that everyone could head to the apartment complex anytime. With that, the silver-haired man disappeared, leaving Demyx to face the other seven still in the room with him.

"Eh-heh," Demyx gulped. "Hi?"

_**Author's Note:** I really have to thank my cousin for all the help she gave me with this chapter. She's actually the one who originally wrote the fiasco scene with Demyx making such an uproar. I just added to it to make it flow better and because I am a detail whore. And again, credit for Demyx's insanity goes to Renée because she is frickin' awesome like that._


End file.
